And British players Alfie Hewett and Andy Lapthorne finished with runners-up honours in what was an incredibly successful US Open for British tennis players – Hewett having already won the men’s doubles title with Gordon Reid and Lapthorne the quads division doubles with Wagner on day 13 in New York.

Having had his opening game broken – two successive double faults handing it to Houdet – Hewett then broke immediately back before holding his next service game with one of the shots we’ve got used to seeing him bring out when the pressure is on – his trademark smash.

With Hewett leading 2-1 Houdet then went on a five game run to close out the first set with a love service game.

The second set started with both players holding their serve but before he knew it Hewett was a set and 3-1 down.

It was then that the teenager from Norfolk went on the attack, needing to take this set to keep his title hopes alive.

His forehand firing on all cylinders, breaking out both backhand and forehand winners and coming in to the net more saw Hewett shift momentum in the match and close out the second set to take it to a decider.

The deciding set, which included eight breaks of serve, became a battle to see who could hold their serve first.

With Houdet 4-3 up it was the Frenchman that got that all important and only hold of serve in the final set before going on to break Hewett once more to take the set, match and US Open singles title.

Houdet now becomes the fourth different Grand Slam singles champion of 2017 – Gustavo Fernandez having been victorious in Australia, Hewett at Roland Garros and Stefan Olsson at Wimbledon showing how open the men’s game is at the minute.

In the quads division Wagner added yet another singles accolade to his name with a 7-5 ,3-6, 6-4 victory over British number one, Andy Lapthorne.

Britain’s Lapthorne may have finished with runner-up honours but he played some incredible tennis, hitting big serves when he needed to and playing smart even when Wagner kept trying to get past him with those difficult to reach cross court winners positioned perfectly in the corners to cause maximum damage.

The first set was a closely contested affair and at 5-4 up Lapthorne needed only to break the Wagner serve to take the first set.

But the world number one took the next three games and subsequently the set meaning Lapthorne had to reset and go again.

And this he did.

With the crowd in full voice, Lapthorne dominated the the second set, even playing the American at his own game, the forehand cross court winners firing off his racket point after point.

Momentum continued to be in his favour until the middle of the deciding set, the British number one 4-2 up at one point.

But that was when Wagner took control again.

And in what was a gripping final from the first point to the last it was the World number one who edged it on his second Championship point.

In the women’s final Kamiji defeated Diede de Groot in straights sets 7-5, 6-2 to claim her third Grand Slam singles trophy of 2017, the only other player to have lifted a title being de Groot who won at SW19 in July.

The first set was tight, the key point coming when Kamiji was 6-5 up and needing to break her Dutch opponent’s serve to take the opener.

This she did and after that the World number one dominated play, structuring her points well to get the win and become US Open champion.

Japan’s Kamiji has pretty much dominated the women’s game this year, having only lost three matches in total since January.

About The Author

Gemma is a journalist, presenter and commentator with specialisms in para-sport and tennis. She has been following the wheelchair tennis tour for a number of years now reporting from some of the major events, including Grand Slams, for various online, print and broadcast outlets, including the BBC. Gemma has also been commissioned to write a number of books on the sport. It is her ultimate ambition to see the wheelchair, VI, deaf and learning disability versions of the game reported equally and alongside the ATP and WTA tours and to be part of the group of journalists that helps to make that happen. Follow her on Twitter @gstevensonsport

TENNIS MAGAZINE

Tennis Threads is the newest and now the only printed Tennis magazine in the UK. Packed with exclusive news and reports from some of the most respected Tennis journalists in the UK. Read about your favourite players including Andy Murray, Jo Konta, Katie Boulter, Heather Watson and Kyle Edmund. Purchase a 12-month subscription today and receive 25% off the cover price.